Falken Tire Deepens Roots with GRIDLIFE in 2025
GRIDLIFE Midwest Festival Set for Record-Breaking Weekend at GignerMan Raceway
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Introduction of GRIDLIFE GT Highlights Competition News Heading into GRIDLIFE Festival
June 5, 2025
From Trackside Curiosity to Title Sponsor, Falken Tire’s Journey with GRIDLIFE Comes Full Circle
CHICAGO (3 June 2025)- Back in 2015, Falken Tire Senior Motorsports Manager Jonathan Bradford was looking to cast a wider net.
Known for its long-standing presence in Formula Drift, Falken Tire was quietly developing a new line of 200tw tires, and Bradford was on the hunt for the right grassroots community to help shape them.
That search led him to a rising name whispered through the drift scene’s inner circles: GRIDLIFE.
“One of the first places I heard about GRIDLIFE was from our own drivers,” Bradford recalls. “I reached out to Chris (Stewart) and his team, asked for credentials, and showed up at Road Atlanta in 2016 with no expectations.
“The moment I arrived, I was blown away,” Bradford continued. “The energy, the crowd, the cars, it was intimate but electric. I knew right away that we had to be part of it.”
What began with drifting quickly grew into something more. Nearly a decade later, Falken Tire is now the Presenting Sponsor of both Club TR and Club SC, two of GRIDLIFE’s most competitive TrackBattle Time Attack classes.
The partnership has evolved into a dynamic collaboration where the paddock becomes both proving ground and R&D lab, with driver feedback directly informing tire development.
“Falken believed in GRIDLIFE before most people even knew what it was,” said Chris Stewart, GRIDLIFE co-founder. “They’ve been in our corner since the early days, helping us evolve both as an event and as a proving ground for real enthusiast innovation. (They have been amazing, and we’ve both grown tremendously together, so) Having Falken continue and expand their commitment into 2025 just feels right.”
The 2025 season will mark Falken Tire’s most expansive GRIDLIFE season yet, with brand activations at five of the series’ marquee events: South Carolina Festival, Midwest Festival, Summer Apex Festival, Circuit Legends and Laguna Festival.
On track, fans will see variants of the iconic Falken Tire livery flying in both grip and drift disciplines, including:
- Mike Burroughs piloting his internet-breaking Ferrari 244 GTK in TrackBattle Unlimited
- Formula Drift Veteran Justin Pawlak shredding tires in his 1000hp Mustang
- Evan Bogovich behind the wheel of Dai Yoshihara’s 2011 championship-winning, LSX-powered S13
- Sonya Klaus, the Falken-chaser in her 350Z HR Track build
Adding an extra layer of excitement, the ‘It’s Your Lucky Day!’ prize will return, awarding one randomly selected Falken Tire-equipped driver in each class with a surprise gift.
“This partnership has always been about more than branding,” Bradford says. “It’s about being embedded in the culture. GRIDLIFE isn’t just a motorsport series, it’s a community, and we’re proud to continue growing with it.”
Falken Tire kicked off its 2025 GRIDLIFE season at the South Carolina Festival season opener, and fans can expect an even bigger presence as the brand returns with an expanded activation footprint at the Midwest Festival at GingerMan Raceway June 6-8.
For GRIDLIFE tickets and event information, visit: www.grid.life
